If you believe that prisoners should receive treatments deemed medically necessary by the American Medical Association, you should be fine with your tax dollars paying for Chelsea Manning’s sex reassignment surgery.

Just hours after BuzzFeed News reported that the transgender prisoner and former WikiLeaks source ended her hunger strike with assurances that the military would provide surgery, a predictable chorus emerged on the right. Their chief grievance: the allocation of tax dollars for a procedure that has long been recognized by major medical associations as a medical necessity for many transgender individuals.

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According to the medical community, however, there is no question that both hormone therapy and sex reassignment surgery can be medically necessary for individuals suffering from gender dysphoria. In a statement to BuzzFeed News, Manning said her physician had recommended sex reassignment surgery in April 2016.

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So even though transgender rights are certainly controversial in the comments section, multiple major physicians’ associations agree that sex reassignment surgery is a well-established and often medically necessary form of treatment. And there’s no evidence that providing this treatment for all transgender prisoners—let alone a single one—would create a significant burden for the American taxpayer.

If you’re OK with Uncle Sam paying for prisoners to receive antidepressants or knee surgery or a CPAP machine, there’s no reason to get worked up over Chelsea Manning’s medical treatment.

2 comments
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Bradley is a man. Regardless of any surgery he could have, any hormones he could take, etc any dna test would confirm, he has not a single cell without a Y chromosome (except half his sperm which he wouldn’t have anymore anyways). Your entire argument is “he says he’s a woman so he must be” should that really be our take? Just believe anything anyone says? That guy told me “the end is near” better go build a bomb shelter! The homeless guy on the corner told me that aliens were reading his mind. Honey we’d better make a tinfoil hat!